Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Do you have to use a registered thief (sorry, solicitor) in the TRNC to get through probate here? It seems they can charge anything they want for this service and are simply preying on the bereaved to make easy money, makes me very annoyed and just wondered if anyone has managed to go through the process without them?

Pop along to Citizens Advice near to Erdener in Karakum....they will be able to tell you.

Thanks mrsgee, they will also be able to charge me too I expect. At the moment I just have a vested interest in why the solicitors can charge up to 25% of the total estate to complete probate!!! If you wish to do it yourself in the UK the cost is around £45.00 regardless of estate size so long as it is under £1.5M.

Somebody out here must have gone through probate themselves or is this why all solicitors are rich????????

Hi wad do no they don't charge anything but you can make a donation if you wish. They gave us advice on wills and saved us a fortune. Gave them 20 lira I think or maybe 50 not much anyway for some handy info.

Just changed our wills to remove advocate from completing probate (at an unknown cost). Used a TC friend, who we trust.

Make no mistake about it, you can make each other Executors, it can be stressful at a time when you don't need extra stress, but provided EVERYTHING is in joint names you can do it yourself. Provided your will is totally straight forward, and with out complications i.e. what's his is hers -v- what her's is his, then cut solicitors out unless really necessary. At least that's the view of a friend of mine who went through all this last year.

Next problem! What if there is no will? Will in UK and probate completed there inside of 4 weeks without problem. Everything here apart from a vehicle in both names - probate estimated at a very long time and very expensive - why?

Because its the TRNC, and a licence for everyone and his dog to make money. Sorry to sound flippant, but its true though isn't it? Visit to Citizens Advice Service or a Notar I suggest but avoid solicitors like the plague. Unless its a big money vehicle, can't you get round it somehow? Probate here according to friends is a year to 18 months, will it be worth it in the long run?

Sophie, have lived here a number of years so understand the "System" but know nothing about probate. Just trying to help a friend and do not want to see them taken for the solicitor ride as normal. Probate has to happen as a house is in both names, no interest in the vehicle as it is old and has little value. Think it would be worth a trip to the CAS before handing over big lumps of dosh to the solicitor when it probably is not required anyway. My Turkish friend - out of the country at the moment - has been executor for a number of people and tells me that probate can be done in a month to two at the most and can be done by the person themselves, with a little help from a Turkish speaker, solicitor not required???

Its a matter of logic "waddo" my friend,
Think of the locals, most of whom are poor or on limited income, do they resolve to a solicitor to sort out the "probate" or any other legal matters????. Personally I say "of course NO".
How many of them can afford to fork out thousands of liras let alone Sterling ££££ !!!!

Surely there is a straight forward method that serves everyone without using solicitors.

I recall long time ago a local Cypriot man told me, that the locals can take any document to the "local Mohtar" and get him to sign / witness the documents including wills "sign, official stamp and a stamp". They also can take 2 witnesses along to countersign the document "of course they must produce their ID/ passport".
If needed later, take the document to the court for it to be sealed and kept until recalled. Court will issue document number given to the involved parties.
One of the "muhtar duties is countersign and approve official documents such as contracts between

Bare in mind, I haven't put the above to test, but, its worthwhile looking into this method. Personally I am inclined to believe it can be done and its one of the Mohtar duties.


Be detectives and benefit the all.
fatsam

Quite agree. However, logic in a country that is illogical is a difficult thing to find! Still love the place and have no intention of leaving to return to a country that has truly no logic at all - it has MP's to ensure that any form of logic is killed at source - lol. This thread has now run its course and can be closed by the Mod's as they wish. If I ever find out anything else that may be useful to others I will start a new thread.

Many thanks to all.

I have just been quoted £3000 is this normal through a solicitor

I am in the process of changing solicitor (what a joke that name is) as I have learned, amongst other things, that he/she does not even have a scale of fees in any form whatsoever and everything seems to be open ended. As all beneficiaries are abroad and anyone appointed with P of A all live in UK, would mean they have to be in a position to spend considerable amount of time in TRNC, which is not feasible. People say to me, "oh I go to ??????, they sorted out the problem with our boundary". My reply to that is "so what" You were able to check on things, something you can't do when you're beneath the sod!!!

I used a great gentleman called Necmi who used to work for the government and knows everyone.
Charges were very reasonable and his work immaculate though needed a Turkish speaking friend to translate the details
I don't know if he has retired yet, but if interested i will dig out his phone number

Thanks MVP. It would be great if I complete faith and trust in any Advocate when it comes to money and property (Probate) in this country, but experience and hard knocks have taught me otherwise. I'm assuming he prepared a will and all that entails and that you and he went to the Court and registered it?

No did probate after a death. Will had been registered by a notary years before

Please note that there are no 'solicitors' in the TRNC, they are Advocates. By calling them solicitors it brings to mind the UK system with all the legal qualifications and legal rights/protections i.e. they are insured against negligence/criminal acts which to my knowledge no Advocate in the TRNC has. There are also full complaints and discipline procedures where UK solicitors and barristers can be struck off. Whilst it is claimed that this system also exists in the TRNC with its Bar Council, I know of none that have been. Nor do Advocates in the TRNC regards themselves as owing their client a 'duty of care.'

Hector, You've hit the nail absolutely, that's why I don't trust them here when I fall off my perch, but unless you have family here that you trust implicitly then you have no alternative. At least none that I've discovered!